Egypt’s General Petroleum Company (GPC) has addressed some banks operating in the local market to obtain a loan worth EGP 2b to finance oil and gas exploration and drilling operations, Al Mal newspaper reported.

GPC’s strategy during the fiscal year 2015/16 aims to implement replacement and renewal programs at a cost of EGP 40m and exploration and drilling projects at a cost of EGP 1.6b.

The oil operator said that it submitted borrowing request to a number of big banks including the National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, CIB, the Arab African International Bank, and QNB.

Sources told Al Mal that GPC’s letter has conditioned receiving 70% of the loan in USD to meet its foreign currency obligations.

The state-owned company operates in exploration, production, and development of hydrocarbons.